Driver involved in Friday crash has died

One of the drivers involved in a Friday afternoon collision on U.S. 2 has died, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.

Officials said the victim was a 29-year-old Columbia Falls male, driving a 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada.

A supervisor at the highway patrol’s Communications Center told the Daily Inter Lake that, at about 2:35 p.m. Friday, the man swerved into the center lane for unknown reasons and struck a Dodge Ram pickup truck carrying a male driver and female passenger from Kalispell. A third vehicle, a Ford Explorer, later struck crash debris and received minimal damage. That vehicle’s driver was unhurt.

The three injured victims were taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where the 29-year-old Columbia Falls male, who had not been wearing his seatbelt, later died. The supervisor said that speed and alcohol are not suspected in the crash, but drugs are. The incident is still under investigation.

An update on the two other victims’ condition was not available.

Reporter Patrick Reilly can be reached at preilly@dailyinterlake.com or at 758-4407.